Big Data is Fueling the Auto Industry

Posted by Roger Ryall

Experts say that Big Data is “new fuel” for the automotive industry, with the potential to take the industry to new heights over the next decade.

On April 27th, 2017, Auto Loan Solutions discussed the fascinating intelligence behind the self-driving car. The Internet of Things (IoT) has enabled the automotive industry to prosper and expand its scope of intelligence in an effort to help people feel safer and efficient on the road.

The ability to remain three steps ahead is awarded to the continuous generation of large sets of Big Data. This term has guided many industries to new heights, as the invaluable information obtained provides not just demographic data, but representations of consumer behavior and preference. The automotive industry has shown the value of Big Data through the creation of the self-driving car, in addition to exceptional technological assets and applications that connect vehicles to the internet.

Big Data Expertise

NASDAQ reports that Research and Markets, one of the world’s leading provider of industry analysis, has released a new report entitled “Big Data in the Automotive Industry: 2017 – 2030 – Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts”. NASDAQ discusses a key finding in their research:

The author estimates that Big Data investments in the automotive industry will account for over $2.8 Billion in 2017 alone. Led by a plethora of business opportunities for automotive OEMs, tier-1 suppliers, insurers, dealerships and other stakeholders, these investments are further expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 12% over the next three years.

The opportunity for growth in industry productivity, revenue, and advancement is created due to large scale data sets. Big Data is defined by Oxford as “extremely large data sets that may be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns, trends, and associations, especially relating to human behavior and interactions”.

In a contribution to Forbes entitled “A Very Short History of Big Data”, writer Gil Press reveals that even in the early 1940’s, librarians predicted an unprecedented growth of information. Press states that almost six decades later in 2003, the world produced about 5 billion gigabytes of new information. Presently in 2017, Big Data continues to develop and benefit the automotive industry.

The Driving Force

Big Data is an essential component to the future growth of the automotive industry. However, it’s not as plain and simple as merely helping provide large quantities of information. One of the world’s largest computer companies, International Business Machines (IBM), believes in the relationship between Big Data, IoT, and augmented intelligence (AI).

Commonly referred to as artificial intelligence, IBM describes augmented intelligence as a more realistic term that doesn’t remove the “human element”. As a member of the IoT Watson team at IBM, Lynne Slowey states that “data will become the new fuel” with 10 million vehicle connections projected by 2020.

Although this may seem slightly intense, Market Watch identifies a key benefit of Big Data, which is represented in annual reports. Research predicts that as a result of connected car services, there will be $40 billion in annual revenue by 2020. In addition to the self-driving car, journalist Gary Eastwood states that the following applications are also contributors to this increase in revenue.

Infotainment

Navigation

Fleet management

Remote diagnostics

Automatic collision notification

Enhanced safety

Usage based insurance

Traffic management

Market Watch believes that Big Data is at the “root” of these applications, which reinforces how important large scale datasets are in fueling the advancement of the automotive industry. The past, present and future projections within the industry confirms that the fusion of advanced technologies and automotive intelligence will continue.